The Big Chili Cook-Off focuses on two things: community and family. With this in mind, one of pivotal cornerstones of the day is our children’s area.

Bring your little ones for a day of fun and activity. Not only will they enjoy the music and the children’s firefighter challenge, but they will be able to experience the fun in an area created just for them. Your small ones can bounce (and giggle, and smile, and create a little ruckus) in our jumping castles. Then, when they’re ready for a quieter activity, they can enjoy the crafts tent where clever, crafty people will have designed something fun for them to create and take home. There will be jugglers, amazing and fascinating everyone with their mad skills. It will be a day of happy memories for everyone.

We’re so excited to see your whole family – so mark your calendars now for September 9, 2012.

At last year’s event, one of the favorites on our music stage was local phenomenon Austin Young. We are thrilled to announce that once again Austin Young and No Difference will be playing at The Big Chili Cook-Off.

Austin is high energy, producing a high quality sound along with preserving the traditional roots of blues music. He is excited to be a part of “keeping the blues alive”! If you’ve never heard Austin Young, check his website here to listen to some samples of his music.

Austin Lee Young is a Colorado native and has been described by some as being a “phenom” guitar player. His youth and energy lend to his own style of music which he calls “Texandrix Blues”. At his young age he exudes unbelievable passion and displays electrifying musicianship in his performances. His inspirations span the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Tim Young, and Ted Johnson. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear this magnificent young guitarist and performer along with his band No Difference!

We try to keep a balance here at The Big Chili as we spend the year planning this fantastic event. We balance all the fun we plan to have at this exciting community event with the reason for its existence – supporting our local volunteer firefighters. A couple of events we have at the festival are specifically designed to bring our minds back to our core purpose. We will have a firefighter tribute that will honor those who serve us. A bagpiper will play, and the Evergreen Firefighter Color Guard will present the colors.

We also have this venue – the Big Chili Blog – to make sure people are made aware of the need to support our volunteer fire departments. We thank our volunteer teams, who make such a huge difference in the community. We thank our local firefighters for their efforts during an already difficult fire season and our national firefighters for coming to Colorado’s assistance. And we make mention of the fact that the stress of this fire season goes way beyond the fires themselves. Many of our firefighters who have already faced a grueling season will have to replace all their gear before next year. This means hundreds and hundreds of dollars coming straight out of the pockets of our volunteers themselves. This is one reason for the existence of The Big Chili – to offset costs of equipment and gear for our firefighters. As you consider your charitable giving for the year, please consider The Big Chili Cook-Off. Your involvement with us puts funding right into the hands of our mountain area fire departments and firefighters.

The Big Chili Cook-Off Art & Music Festival is, in great part, about the music. We will have fantastic bands playing on the stage all day, lending to the festive air. But if you’re in the mood for something a little more low key, be sure to stop into the Lakehouse during the day. This is where our artists will be, with coffeehouse-type music, a wine bistro, and silent auction items to bid on. Come in, sit and relax, and enjoy the “Art” part of our festival.

If you’re wondering who provides all the excellent music for our event, it’s our own Cactus Jack’s Saloon. Check out a fantastic write-up about Cactus Jack’s here in Paste Magazine – Signs of Life in Music, Film & Culture. They are number eight on Paste’s list of Twelve Restaurants with Musical Ties, the noted restaurants being from both Canada and the U.S. We couldn’t be more excited for Cactus Jack’s!! Not only are they making a splash nationally, they are also committed to giving back to the mountain community we all call home. You can check out their menu and calendar here to pick a night when you can enjoy great food and live music, right in the heart of Evergreen.

If you’re looking for some fun activities for the family this summer, and you love to contribute to a great cause – come on down to Olde Town Arvada, enjoy great music and food, and lend your support to Habitat for Humanity.

“… Soulful sparkplug Nina Storey might well be called LA NIÑA …can stir up a storm when she belts out her self-penned soul-funk tunes. She’s starting to build an out-of-state audience and her album, “Shades” (on Colorado label Nina Storey Music), shows she has what it takes to become a national Storey.” – The Denver Post

This fantastic musician and songwriter is being noticed by music reviewers everywhere, and if you’ve had the good fortune to hear her, you know why. If you haven’t, you can listen to clips at the Nina Storey Music website here.

The great news is that Nina Storey is the headline act for The Big Chili Cook-Off on September 9, 2012. For the price of a ticket, you get a day filled with fun, including the excitement of tasting the chilies made by our many chili cooks, visiting the beer garden, browsing the booths of our vendors and artists, and listening to several “knock your socks off” bands.

The icing on the cake, so to speak? The day ends with Nina Storey – by far one of the most powerful and expressive voices in the business today. Check The Big Chili website here for information about buying tickets – you, too, can eat great food and enjoy top-notch entertainment, all while supporting our mountain area volunteer fire departments.